Easy, low-cost tips for improving your tween or teen’s health April 26, 2010

It wasn’t too long ago when health concerns such high blood pressure leading to heart problems were issues only middle-aged or elderly Americans faced. Increasingly, tweens and teens are struggling with health problems that, left unchecked, will only worsen as they age. Here are three tips garnered from the study. It is important to note that in every case, success was highest when the adoloscent was open to the techniques, and the family/parents offered a positive or supportive environment. However, the techniques would benefit all family members, especially busy parents, so total family participation would be ideal.

• Meditation
• Walking with a pedometer
• Life skills coaching/ learning better problem-solving skills

Dr. Vernon Barnes, who has studied the impact of meditation on cardiovascular health for more than a decade at the Medical College of Georgia’s Georgia Prevention Institute has documented the improved stress reactivity in adolescents with high and normal blood pressures as well as lower blood pressures in inner-city adolescents who meditate twice daily. He adds that a positive attitude and family environment increases the effectiveness.

Meditation also sharpens the mind for education. “When you come to school with a stressed mind, you can’t do as well,” Dr. Barnes said. “The benefit of calming your mind is preparing it to learn.” A review of school records showed meditating adolescents miss fewer days and generally behave better, he added.

Another study showed that the blood pressure of students in a high school-based walking program decreased after just 16 weeks compared with non-participating peers. Dr. Barnes said an inexpensive pedometer is an incentive to move.

“It all works together, which makes sense,” he said, looking at the impact of the techniques over just a few months. “If you could maintain that decrease into your adult years, it may decrease cardiovascular disease risk,” Dr. Barnes said.

Researchers also reported reductions in anger and anxiety after a dozen, 50-minute Williams LifeSkills workshops helped adolescents learn to analyze a situation before responding, to listen and empathize or even stand firm when necessary. Psychosocial factors such as anger are known to contribute to a wide range of health problems including elevated blood pressures and heart disease in adulthood.

What does your family do to alleviate stress?

WIN a $2000 PROM Makeover! April 12, 2010

Is your teenaged girl unsure she wants to attend her prom? Or perhaps can’t afford it? Having trouble finding the right dress? Here’s a unique twist on the “pimp my prom” concept for teen girls from Kymaro and Beauty Spa Essentials!

They are offering an amazing prize package, valued at up to $2,000, including a free prom dress, manicure, pedicure, free hair color, cut and styling, plus a limo ride to the prom for your teen and her date and prom tickets paid for by Kymaro.

To enter the contest, each girl must be a junior or senior in high school and should write a one-page , heartwarming essay on why she does not want to attend her prom.  Send the letter, via email, to Kymaro@5wpr.com and tell why you’re hesitant to attend the prom (whether it’s a recent breakup with a boyfriend or because you can’t afford it).  Each letter must include: your first and last name, the name of your high school, what grade you’re in, date of your prom, your email address and phone number – and (finally!) how you heard about the contest.For more information on the contest, go to Kymaro’s Facebook page.  The contest ends on April 15.

Five winners will be picked from five cities:  Orlando, Cincinnati, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.”

Host your own Renewable Project Runway competition September 10, 2009

Make it work, people. Here is a fun challenge for fashion-crazed tweens and fans of Lifetime’s Project Runway.

Host your own “Renewable Project Runway” competition, incorporating only used/recycled clothing, blankets or sheets, items from the recycling bin (newspapers, rinsed cans and bottles, lids, cardboard cereal boxes, etc.), masking tape, scissors and whole lot of imagination.

Each competitor designs and models his or her own creation (or have teams of two work together!)—the sky is the limit for this earth-friendly challenge.

Designate moms and dads to assume the roles of Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia—and a few celebrity judges, of course, dahlings! Award prizes for Most Chic, Cutest, Most Outrageous, Funniest—and a say Auf Wiedersehen to those who just can’t make it work!

For more info: Check out the fashions and judge profiles and blogs at Lifetime’s Project Runway.

Future Environmentalists: Twilight vampires to cause human extinction?

Twilight vampires are thoughtlessly destroying the planet and our ecology. If we look closely at the habits of Twilight vampires, we see that they… Keep Reading »

Future Environmentalists’ Club: Converting shoes to skates

Why settle for store-bought when you have custom? Talk about impressive footwear! The perfect fit, your favorite style, and wheels. What more could… Keep Reading »

Future Environmentalists’ Club: Breathe new life into last year’s school supplies

Get “green” for back-to-school! As you make your list of must-have school supplies, consider ways you can re-use equipment and supplies…Keep Reading »

Future Environmentalists’ Club: Pearl Jam listening stations get cranked

Like Jazzercise for Generation Z, Pearl Jam offered a chance for fans to exercise to their favorite music. At Outside Lands music festival in San…
Keep Reading »

Future Environmentalists’ Club: Creating a family “gratitude ritual” for a happier life

Gratitude in our homes helps us feel connected. Encourage your kids to show their gratitude at family mealtimes by creating a centerpiece for the… Keep Reading »

Teens, Credit, and Debt – Part 2 August 5, 2009

This is the second installment of New Law Limits Teens and Credit.

In February 2010, new legislation will limit teens from getting credit cards, unless they are able to prove the means to pay their own bills, or if a parent risks his or her own credit score by co-signing. (See Teens, credit cards and debt – New legislation.)

The good news? Prepaid credit cards with trackable spending offer a convenient, low-cost alternative.

If there are concerns about responsible spending habits, Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma recommends “parents look into pre-paid debit cards or secured credit cards for their children rather than traditional credit cards.”

When you taught your child to ride a bike, you held on until they were steady. When you taught them to drive, you were right next to them in the passenger seat. Helping your child create a budget and track spending until they’re ready to take off the credit care training wheels is a lesson they will hold to to for life. The most important benefits include:

Read the rest of this article here.

If you liked this, you may enjoy…

Fostering abundance attitude in kids

Caring for aging family members in a digital world

Treasured moments: Fresh perspective on family photos

New law limits teens and credit August 1, 2009

Time is running out for college students to get their own credit card. Starting in February 2010, those under 21 will no longer be able to get a credit card unless they can prove they have the means to prepay the debt or—gasp!–a parent co-signs.

The new law is meant to make it tougher for young people to get credit. According to Credit Karma, a company which provides free credit scores, and tools  to help consumers better understand how credit scores and credit reports work, the average college student graduates with more $3,100 in credit card debt.

But is limiting their access to credit really a good idea?

Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma says waiting until 21 to get a credit card could have long term implications on a person’s credit score. “Generally, credit cards are the backbone of most consumers’ credit history,” he reports. “By curbing credit card access to young consumers, a larger portion of the population may find themselves with limited credit history also known as ‘thin file.’ Consumers with thin files may find it more difficult to apply for credit since they may not have a credit score.”

Lin does believe there is an upside to waiting; “Young consumers are less likely to get into early financial trouble, particularly if they don’t have the means or income to support a credit card.”

What impact will co-signing have on a parent’s credit score?

In general, co-signing a credit card is not a good idea. Unless parents have diligently about taught their teenaged children about the importance of managing credit, and have themselves never missed a payment (and modeled this behavior), it is unreasonable to expect an inexperienced person to handle a credit card responsibly. Unfortunately, most teens learn about credit the hard way.

For parents, this legislation could be a double-edged sword. “While it could protect their children by limiting potentially expensive debts, the law could also create a liability for parents,” explains Lin. “Co-signing means that parents will be vouching for their child and thus any default on that card will be reflected in the parent’s credit score. Parents should not take this responsibly lightly.”

Let’s also keep in mind that new legislation does not come swiftly or easily. This new law reflects the unfathomably huge unpaid debt already acquired by teens. It is to protect the credit card companies from misuse of credit, plainly. “By requiring a co-signer, we can get parents involved in monitoring spending behavior early, before debt gets out of control,” says Lin. But how many good-intentioned parents are still bailing out their children’s poor judgment with money management?

Read the rest of this article, and learn the three potential pitfalls of the new legislation.

Teen drivers and safety: Tips for parents July 13, 2009

With summer revving its engine, it’s a great time of year for teens; Classes are in the rear-view, and summer jobs are on the horizon.
 
Between driving to work, running errands, and joy-riding with BFFs, teens comprise a sizable population of drivers in the summer months. Sadly, in the 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day, data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows an annual spike in traffic accidents, injuries and deaths among young people.
 
As teens start cruising the roads this summer, it is important for parents to remind them how to stay safe behind the wheel. The following are critical tips for parents of teen drivers from the non-profit organization, Think Before You Drive….

Read the rest of this post here.

One Mom’s Rules for Tween Texting June 1, 2009

Houston mom Francisca Ortega bought her10-year-old a cell phone and suddenly understood why tweens should not have phones.

They simply don’t understand how to use them.

Texting is a privilege, not a right, asserts Ortega, and when tweens abuse that privilege they risk losing friends and alienating parents.

Here are Ortega’s ten rules for texting:

Be cool. Just because you’re bored does not give you the right to bombard your friends with 50 texts in a row. Get another hobby.

Answer me when I’m texting to you! You respond to each of the 50 asinine texts your friends send you in a row. You have the time to take a second and tell me where you are.

If we’re talking, you’re not texting. If we’re at the dinner table, you’re on my time. Put the phone down. Same goes for school. That’s your teacher’s time.

No texting after bedtime. I’m serious about this one. To all the little boys texting after 10 p.m., even if she was awake she doesn’t need to be talking to you.

I am not your spell checker. Get a dictionary and stop asking me every two minutes.

Keep the abbreviations simple. If you text AYTMTB are you really saving any time if you then have to explain that it means: and you’re telling me this because?

Don’t text while fighting. Disagreements and miscommunications with your friends can not be solved in a 160 characters of misspelled and abbreviated words.

More than ten texts in a row and it’s time to pick up the phone. Texting is for short and simple messages not an in-depth conversation.

Turn off the ringer. I will hassle you less about your friends texting every two minutes if I don’t hear it. I promise.

No drunk texting. You may not drink now (you don’t, right?!?), but you’ll thank us for this someday.

Texting Teens and Felony Charges February 26, 2009

Say you’re a middle school principal who has just confiscated a cell phone from a 14-year-old boy, only to discover it contains a nude photo of his 13-year-old girlfriend. Do you: a) call the boy’s parents in despair, b) call the girl’s parents in despair, or c) call the police? More and more, the answer is d) all of the above. Which could result in criminal charges for both of your students and their eventual designation as sex offenders.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Dahlia Lithwick’s provocative story on Slate.com, “Textual Misconduct: What to do about teens and their dumb naked photos of themselves.” 

“Sexting” is the clever new name for the act of sending, receiving, or forwarding naked photos via your cell phone. As the aunt of a beautiful and daring 17-year-old, I’m privy to her exploits, thanks to online social sites where she and her high-school friends post photos and videos of many of their activities. She is a good girl and we have (I think) an honest and open dialogue together, but, like most teens, she and her friends love to push the envelope. Hey, didn’t we all when we were young and considered ourselves invincible? The issue now is this: one racy, brazen Valentine photo for a boyfriend can land both the wannabe model and the recipient of the image with felony charges for manufacture, dissemination and possession of child pornography—and an appearance on a list of registered sex offenders. How will these consequences affect entrance into college, attempts to secure employment?

Lithwick reports that one teen in five reports he or she has sent or posted naked photos of himself or herself, according to a new survey by the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Additionally,

• In January 2009, three girls (ages 14 or 15) in Greensburg, Pa., were charged with disseminating child pornography for sexting their boyfriends. The boys who received the images were charged with possession.
• A teenager in Indiana faces felony obscenity charges for sending a picture of his genitals to female classmates.
• A 15-year-old girl in Ohio and a 14-year-old girl in Michigan were charged with felonies for sending nude images of themselves to classmates. 
• Nationally, more than 75 billion text messages are sent a month, and the most avid texters are 13 to 17, say researchers. Teens with cellphones average 2,272 text messages a month, compared with 203 calls, according to the Nielsen Co.

If convicted, these young people may have to register as sex offenders, in some cases for a decade or two. Similar charges have been filed in cases in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.

Must we prosecute kids with a felony—as the producers and purveyors of kiddie porn—because they are too immature to understand that their seemingly innocent acts can hurt them? Child pornography laws intended to protect children should not be used to prosecute and then label children as sex offenders.

According to Lithwick, school districts have reacted to the uptick in sexting by simply prohibiting students from bringing cell phones to school. This doesn’t stop students from sexting, it just stops them from being caught, enacting what amounts to a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy.

At some level, teens understand that once their image reaches someone else’s cell phone, what happened in Vegas is unlikely to stay there, she comments.

The National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy survey suggests 25% of teen girls and 33%  of teen boys report seeing naked images originally sent to someone else.

The same survey showed that teens can be staggeringly naive in another way: 20% have posted a naked photo of themselves despite the fact that 71% of those asked understand that doing so can have serious negative consequences. Understanding the consequences of risky behavior but engaging in it anyhow? Smells like teen spirit to me, muses Lithwick.

The real problem with criminalizing teen sexting as a form of child pornography is that the great majority of these kids are not predators.

Many experts insist the sexting trend hurts teen girls more than boys, fretting that they feel “pressured” to take and send naked photos. Yet, as Lithwick points out, the girls in the Pennsylvania case were charged with “manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography” while the boys were merely charged with possession. If we are worried about the poor girls pressured into exposing themselves, why are we treating them more harshly than the boys?

Parents need to remind their teens that a dumb moment can last a lifetime in cyberspace. Judges and prosecutors need to understand that a lifetime of cyber-humiliation shouldn’t be grounds for a very real and possibly lifelong criminal record.

Further research on this topic was presented at the 2009 WiredKid’s Summit by Teenangels and Tweenangels  (non-profit groups of 13- to 18-year old and 9- to 12-year-old volunteers who have been specially trained in all aspects of online safety, privacy and security. The Teenangels run unique programs in schools to educate other teens and younger kids, parents, and teachers about responsible and safe surfing). Here are their findings:

• Cyberbullying occurs as early as 2nd grade and peaks in 4th grade.
• When kids are targeted by a cyberbully, most kids hide it from their parents (unless they surf together or play online games together).
• Boys tend to be riskier online than girls, by sharing more personal information and offline meetings with people they only know online.
• When kids engage their parents with their online activities, the kids themselves are safer and more careful across the board. Five times as many of them know about parental controls and privacy settings than the kids who always surf alone.
• Moms play online games with their kids almost as often as dads do.
• Boys post more videos to YouTube than girls do, but both watch them as often.
• 85% of elementary school kids share their password with at least one other person.